Customer Reviews

Cakewalk: A Memoir

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`Cakewalk' contains extraordinary family stories; of Romanov treasure lost, fortunes made and gone, living with a mother who, Moses says is part Mary Poppins, part Sound of Music and part I Love Lucy. In reality Kate's upbringing by both her parents is horrendous and much of the book contains stories of her overcoming the fallout from them. There are funny stories - a natural disaster laden cross country trip; there is an apology after many years from her father and one of the most touching of all lines,"...and for four hundred miles, my father never let go of my hand".
What the book also contains are some of her recipes, many fairly involved; all sugar laden, as was most of her childhood diet, but scrumptious. Included is a brownie recipe that M.F.K. Fisher thought was delicious. There are only 33 recipes in here, so it is not a cookbook, instead it is a formula of how. How do we survive our childhood?
Kate Moses is one of those rare authors, that as you near the end of reading her book, you think, "I've got to look up other things by her and read them". That's accolade enough to read this.

I loved this memoir. I found it touching and bittersweet in the telling of a childhood. It is brutally honest and although sometimes heartbreaking, it is also inspirational. I also liked the recipes at the ends of the chapters, a bonus of sorts. Sometimes memoirs seem to go on too long, but this is one I did not want to end. A very enjoyable read.

Kate Moses is a child of the 70s, with all its inherent consequences. Reading her memoir will strike a familiar chord for many who grew up in the era. Having survived some epically bad parenting by learning to bake and write, Kate has given back the many kindnesses she encountered by sharing her best recipes. Reading her lyrical remembrances makes one realize that the flavors of your memories should be catalogued with the sweet rather than the bitter. This book is a real treat.

Kate Moses is a gifted writer. She crosses paths with so many of my own memories as I grew up in the same time and place. The funny thing is the same could be said for the dozen or so other locales her parents raised her in. Her memoir catches the spirit of the 1960s from San Francisco to Washington, DC. I can't believe any other household was as full of sweets as my own. There is a very good tale of her mother trying to steal a towel out of Pat Nixon's White House powder room.

I would love to read more from this author. Perhaps she could write a novel on the Romanov treasures that she claims her family burned at a San Francisco dump?

Smart, funny, and refreshingly honest, Kate Moses writes from the heart. She reminds us that no matter how screwed up our families may be, we all deserve to be happy. Much of her satisfaction comes through cooking, so the recipes she includes at the end of every chapter are just the icing on the cake. This was a book I couldn't put down. Highly recommended.

This is a smart, beautifully written memoir, so richly evocative that the recipes, while delicious, are only, um, icing on the cake.

I would have gladly read this book from cover to cover in one sitting if I didn't have any other obligations; as it was I kept sneaking over to read it a chapter at a time when I couldn't sit down for a long spell with it. I loved the author's stories from her childhood and teen years, no doubt because it really resonated with me as I was similarly a dork (as the author calls herself). A girl who makes it her teen ambition to embroider all the breeds recognized by the AKC on her jeans? Brilliant. Too bad she threw them away!

The other half of the story is darker--the relationship between Mom, Dad, and the family--and the author tenderly, carefully untangles it as best she can over the course of her life.

The only part that bogged down for me was close to the end, where there is a lull while we meet famous authors and chefs etc., but when we return to the family the intensity and emotion return and the book gallops along again. The author's reflections on death and grief truly hit home for me.

I am so glad I found this book, which I think I saw mentioned in passing in a larger article about good reads in a magazine. Serendipity.

I finally had to give up and stop reading "Cakewalk: A Memoir." I could not relate to the perspective of Ms. Moses having such a horrible life. The whining had to stop. So, I have set it aside to pick up again another time. Maybe.

If you find baking therapeutic then this is the most comforting book you will ever come across. I have tried many of the recipes in this book and they are magnificent! My favorite is the Pecan Spice birthday cake!

After reading reviews in magazines and taking a peak at this book on Amazon...I somehow expected more. The book is an ok read, but if I had it to do over again I wouldn't buy it. It's a little slow and kind of sad. There aren't many funny antidotes in the book.